Exploring Nature in New Hampshire

Mid August Wildflowers

One of my favorite wildflowers is the tiny eastern forked blue curls (Trichostema dichotomum) and it has just started blooming. The plant barely reaches 6 inches tall and the flowers might make a half inch across on a good day, so it’s a challenging plant to photograph. One unusual thing about the flower, other than its unique beauty, is its four long, arching stamens that dust bees with pollen when they land on its lower lip. This plant is an annual that grows from seed each year. It seems to like sandy soil and I find it growing along river banks.

Nature must have been in a secret revealing mood as I drove down an old dirt road recently. This very beautiful rosebay willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium) grew just off the side of the road at the edge of a swamp. At least, I think it is rosebay willowherb; I’ve never seen it before and there seems to be some confusion among sources about the regions it grows in. According to the USDA it doesn’t grow in New England, but the University of Maine lists it in its database. Another name for the plant is fireweed and Henry David Thoreau mentions seeing great stands of it in 1857, so I’m wondering if the USDA map is be incorrect. If you live in New Hampshire and have seen this plant I’d love to hear from you.

Just look at those thorns. They felt the need to remind me how sharp they were when I was trying to take this photo. Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) originally hails from Europe. It is thought to have been introduced in the colonial era and has spread throughout the United States, much to the dismay of farmers and cattle ranchers. It is also called spear thistle, with good reason. I wonder if it was imported intentionally or accidentally.

Another European import is the broad leaved helleborine orchid (Epipactis helleborine.) Imported as an ornamental in the 1800s, it escaped cultivation and found a new home. It could hardly be called invasive in this area though; I know of only two places where it grows and in one of those places there is just a single plant. It grows to about knee high in deep shade, making it a challenge to photograph.

The pencil eraser size flowers of broad leaved helleborine resemble our pink ladies slipper in shape but are mostly green with hints of purple. Some plants have flowers that are much more purple than others. Its leaves closely resemble those of false hellebore (Veratrum viride) but are much smaller.

Burdock (Arctium lappa) is a good example of a biennial plant. In the first year of life it grows leaves and in the second year it flowers, sets seeds, and dies. This is what biennials do, so we know that its tubular flowers with purple stamens and white styles signal that it is close to finishing its journey. There is no reason to grieve though, because the germination rate of its seeds is high and there will surely be burdocks for many years to come.

Burdock is said to have been introduced from Europe because it was noted in 1672 by self-styled naturalist John Josselyn, who wrote that it had “sprung up since the English Planted and kept Cattle in New-England.” He said the same thing about the dandelion, but fossil evidence proved him wrong. Native American tribes across the country had many uses for burdock, both as a medicine and food, so some form of the plant had to have been here long before European settlers arrived.

Many plants have had an extended bloom period this year and purple flowering raspberry (Rubus odoratus) is no exception. I’m still seeing its flowers here and there, even though the plant usually stops blooming a month after it starts in mid-June. I’ve always liked its two inch, rose like blossoms. If you’re looking for a shade tolerant flowering shrub this one is a good choice.

Purple flowering raspberry is closely related to thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) and gets its common name from its large, raspberry like fruit. I’ve never eaten one but some say that they’re close to tasteless and others say they taste like dried raspberries. The plant is unreliable as a source of berries though; I’ve seen many clusters with no fruit at all and others that had 5 or 6 flowers bearing only a single berry.

Goldenrod and Queen Anne’s lace line the shores of a sea of purple loosestrife. This is a good example of how invasive purple loosestrife chokes out native plants and creates a monoculture. Not that long ago this area was full of native wildflowers but soon purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is all that will be seen here.

Though eastern purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a native wildflower I don’t often find it growing outside of gardens. Native American plains tribes used this plant to treat toothaches, coughs, colds, sore throats, and snake bite. Something interesting that I read recently said that Native Americans got the idea that coneflower could be used medicinally by watching sick and injured elk eat the plants. I’ve always wondered how natives came to know if a plant was poisonous or not and thought that they must have simply used trial and error. Pity the one who had to try an unknown plant for the first time.

I usually stay away from goldenrod identification because there are so many of them that even botanists get confused, but slender fragrant goldenrod (Solidago tenuifolia) is easy because of its long, slender leaves and its fragrance. The only other similar goldenrod is the lance leaved goldenrod (Solidago graminifolia) but its leaves are wider and have 3 to 5 veins as opposed to the single vein in a slender fragrant goldenrod leaf. Still, I always smell them just to be sure.

Invasive rabbit’s foot clover (Trifolium arvense) is short enough to be forced to grow right at the edge of the road if it wants to get any sunshine, so the roads look like they have been festooned with fuzzy pink ribbons for a while each summer. It’s an annual that grows new from seed each year and the seedlings must be tough, because they don’t seem to mind being occasionally run over, or the poor dry soil found along the road side. In fact they seem to thrive in it. I see more plants each year.

Virgin’s bower (Clematis virginiana) has draped itself over the shrubs alongside our roads and its small white flowers are another reminder that fall is near. Another name for this vine is traveler’s joy, which it is. Native American used it medicinally but it is toxic and can cause severe mouth pain if any parts of it are eaten.

Twenty five years ago or so I was hiking along an old forgotten dirt road through a Massachusetts forest and came upon a single fringed gentian plant (Gentianopsis crinita.) That was the only gentian I had ever seen in my lifetime until just the other day, when I saw these bottle gentians (Gentiana andrewsii) growing alongside the same road that the rosebay willowherbs were on. It’s a good thing there was no traffic because I jammed on my brakes and jumped out to admire them. They are extremely rare in these parts and I was as excited to see them as I would have been to have seen a field full of orchids.

NOTE: I’ve just discovered that these are narrow leaved gentians (Gentiana linearis.) I’m sorry about the confusion.

Bottle gentians are often called closed bottle gentians because the flowers stay closed just as they are in the photo, even when they are ready to be pollinated. Few insects are strong enough to pry the flower parts open to get at the nectar and pollen, but bumblebees are usually successful. Their selective method of pollination and the fact that most of their seedlings die off before flowering might account for this plant’s rarity. Since its seeds are too small to interest birds and its foliage too bitter to interest herbivores, it is said that bottle gentians have very little ecological value. It’s almost as if they’re here simply to be admired by humans.

He who is born with a silver spoon in his mouth is generally considered a fortunate person, but his good fortune is small compared to that of the happy mortal who enters this world with a passion for flowers in his soul. ~Celia Thaxter

53 Responses

Wonderful website with stunningly beautiful photos. About picture #13 in this (Mid August Wildflowers) series: My understanding was that native Clematis virginiana has leaflets with a distinctly notched or serrate margin whereas those of the non-native C. terniflora are entire. Can you clarify that for me as that was the only difference I was able to discern between the two species? Thanks for providing a resource that is so helpful and informative as well as gorgeous.

You’re welcome and thank you JB. The leaves as you describe them are correct. Those on Clematis terniflora are oval with perfectly smooth edges. Those of the native clematis virginiana are larger with toothed edges and appear more coarse. They also come in sets of three. Clematis virginiana also blooms earlier than the cultivated variety, usually in August here. Also, the seed heads on the native are much more pronounced and are easy to spot from quite a distance.
I’ve heard stories about how aggressive and invasive the cultivated Clematis terniflora is, but I’ve never found it growing outside of a garden. In fact the native vine seems far more aggressive in the way that it covers shrubs and climbs trees. I hope this helps.

Wow this is very interesting and informative and you have some marvelous photos here! Thank you for visiting my blog and liking one of my posts. I pray you will come again some time. Blessings, Natalie 🙂

Consulted my books and saw in the Audubon Field Guide beside the entry for Blue Curls:” Aug. 21,’90 Found 2 tiny plants, only 5 or 6″ high, in sandy soil near stream at Derry Dump. Leaves aromatic. I thought it was Pennyroyal.” I remembered seeing it but was glad to find it written down. The same date, well, today’s. I’d go and look but wouldn’t be able to get close enough — I’ve slowed down a lot. Your photo is just incredible!! Especially now I’ve checked Newcombe and online, not so large and clear. You must have fantastic camera equipment and skill !!

Thank you Charlotte for your compliment. No, there is no special equipment. I just use a Panasonic Lumix DMC-S27 point and shoot mounted on a small tripod. Though it’s a relatively low cost camera it has a Leica lens and does a good job.
Your description of where you found the blue curls matches my own. As soon as August comes around I start looking for them on the banks of the Ashuelot river.

You sure do find many interesting and beautiful flowers in your neck of the woods! I think that only about half of the plants in this post grow in Michigan, but I’m probably wrong about that.

It sounds as if the USDA range maps are even more inaccurate than some of the range maps for birds. When I saw egrets here in Michigan for the first time, every range map for them that I found showed that they didn’t breed in Michigan, which is obviously wrong these days.

I wonder how many of the plants from Europe came here accidentally in grain meant for either human or animal consumption during the voyage?

Thanks Jerry! the map problem turned out to be my fault. Somehow I was looking at the wrong map, and I’m still trying to figure out how that happened. It must be tough keeping up with the movement of plants, and especially birds.
I think a lot of plants probably came over by accident in the early days, but later on many were purposely shipped over for use in gardens. In the case of burdock though, it doesn’t make sense that native peoples would have such an extensive knowledge of a plant that supposedly didn’t arrive until the late 1600s.

Thank you Ruth, for letting me know. I was starting to wonder if I identified the plant incorrectly. At least now I know for sure that it does indeed grow here.
I hope your heath issues aren’t serious and pass quickly so you can get back outside. Meanwhile, I’m glad this blog helps.
Thanks again!

The Moxie people must have a gentian farm somewhere. I don’t think you could find enough gentians in nature for a cup of tea.
I still think your shot of the blue curls is the one to beat. It’s as close to perfect as I’ve seen.

The photographs in this post are so good – really lovely! The Eastern Forked Blue Curls is heavenly – a perfect flower. The Bottle Gentian is another lovely flower and panders to my penchant for blue blooms. The Rosebay Willowherb is a lovely looking plant and the example you have here is special. I am sorry it is such a bully and so badly behaved in the US. The same goes for Purple Loosestrife which surprisingly I don’t think I have seen since I was a girl. The Burdock you have shown here looks more like our Lesser Burdock as the florets are projecting beyond the bracts. Our Greater Burdock flowers look more ‘ball-like’ with the florets the same length as the bracts. We call Virgin’s Bower Traveller’s Joy or Old Man’s Beard. The unruly, grey, fluffy seed-heads all over the hedges account for this name. As always you are a mine of information and the quotes you choose are memorable.

Thank you Clare. The rosebay willowherb behaves itself in this part of the country-that’s the only plant that I’ve ever seen. I’ll have to look into the greater / lesser burdocks to see if I’ve misidentified this one. It wouldn’t be the first time. I’m glad you liked the quotes. I started using them in posts because they seemed to fit and often say things that I feel, but don’t know how to say. Finding them can be tough, but also fun.

Beautiful post, Allen…with some familiar flowers. I’ve seen the Fireweed and Thimbleberry in the mountains of Utah…and have tasted the berries…their flavor is not nearly as robust as Raspberries, but they’re not flavorless, either…and yes, the berries were very sparse on the bushes…..

Great find with the gentian. Thanks. The Field of purple loosestrife is amazing. The first flower, the blue curl, has quite the strategy for pollen distribution. Rhank you for bringing that to my attention. And I confess, In Jim’s Garden the only burdock I love as the burdock which I have removed. It is really invasive around here.

Ancient plant knowledge and lore must have been prized information! Watching a sick elk as a test trial would take keen observation and excellent communication skills by the early people to orally pass on the results!

So much color and beauty! I was watching my bees this morning come back to the hive with white sacks of pollen on their back legs. Couldn’t figure out what was blooming white until I saw your post and thought, ah, it must be queen anne’s lace!

Thank you Cynthia. I’m not really sure if they’re related but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were. Our lady’s slipper is native to North America and the helleborine orchid is native to Europe, so it would be a distant relationship. Like 4th cousins, maybe.

Thanks Jennifer. Now I’m really confused! I checked that same USDA map just the other day and it showed rosebay willowherb stopping at the New York / Vermont border and not entering New England at all. I thought it was odd that it also showed it growing throughout Canada but not in our “cold states.” I’m not sure what went wrong but thanks for the information!

Rosebay Willowherb was sometimes called “Bomb Weed” in the UK because it colonised the large areas of rubble in our cities during the 1939-1945 war. It’s extremely common here, particularly on bare ground such as along rail track verges.

Thanks Jim. Yes, we call it fireweed here because it is one of the first plants to colonize burnt areas in forests. Interesting how some plants prefer disturbed soil and others won’t grow on soil that man has changed.

I love the quote you have added into your post today, very wise words. There is a wild field behind our garden, beside a river with one purple loosestrife growing, I wish there was more to compete with the choking bindweed, but thats sad it will out do your wildflowers.

Thank you Julie. I like that quote too. It makes me feel better about being more interested in finding plants than making money.
I’m not sure how things work there but I’d guess that your single purple loosestrife will one day be a field full of it, and it probably won’t take long.

This is a gorgeous time of the year, with lots of wildflowers in bloom. It’s hard to miss the goldenrod and Queen Anne’s Lace (which even I can identify), but I continue to be amazed by all of the tiny beauties that you discover. I especially enjoyed your images of the helleborine orchid and the forked blue curls, and the purple cone flower is spectacular (I’ve never seen one in the wild).

It sure is Mike-probably the most flower filled time of the year. The little ones are hard to see sometimes but as you can tell, they’re well worth looking for. I’m really surprised that cone flowers haven’t spread throughout our fields. They don’t seem to have any trouble spreading around my yard.

Thank Laura. The thistle seed we feed birds comes from a high oil content plant called Nyger from Africa and isn’t really a thistle. The seeds have been sterilized so they don’t sprout when they fall to the ground.